O'er Many Lands, on Many Seas by Gordon Stables (top 10 most read books in the world .txt) π
William Gordon Stables was born in Aberchirder, in Banffshire (now part of Aberdeenshire). After studying medicine at the University of Aberdeen, he served as a surgeon in the Royal Navy. He came ashore in 1875, and settled in Twyford, Berkshire, in England.
He wrote over 130 books. The bulk of his large output is boys' adventure fiction, often with a nautical or historical setting. He also wrote books on health, fitness and medical subjects, and the keeping of cats and dogs. He was a copious contributor of articles and stories to the Boy's Own Paper.
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almost as bad as shooting a human being.
"`We'll go back to the lake-side now, Friday,' I said, `and have
dinner.'
"Alas! I had no dinner that day, Nie, nor for many a long day to come.
"There is no fiercer wild beast in all the forests or jungles than the
cougar or puma, and none more treacherous. I have an idea myself that
the darker in colour the more courageous and bloodthirsty they are;
however that may be, I would any day as soon fight hand-to-hand with a
man-eating tiger as I would with some of the monstrous pumas I have seen
in South America. And yet I have heard sportsmen despise them, probably
because they have never met one face to face as I have done, and as I
did on the day in question.
"We were quietly returning, Friday and I, to the place where we had left
our provisions and bags, when he suddenly cried, `Look, massa! look
dere!' We had disturbed one of the largest boa-constrictors I had ever
seen, and it was moving off, strange to say, instead of boldly attacking
us, but hissing and blowing with rage as it did so. It looked to me
like the trunk of some mighty palm-tree in motion along the ground.
"`Fire!' I cried; `fire! Friday.'
"The crack of both of our rifles followed in a second, but though
wounded, the terrible creature made good its escape.
"I hurried after him, loading as I went, and thus got parted for a short
time from my faithful servant and body-guard.
"I soon discovered, to my sorrow, the reason why the boa had not
attacked us.
"In these dense forest lands, the wildest animals prey upon each other.
Thus the boa often seizes and throttles the life out of even the puma,
agile and fierce though it be. This particular boa had been watching a
puma, evidently, when we came up. The brute gave me not a moment to
consider, nor to finish my loading.
"I yelled in terror as I found myself seized by the shoulder. I
remember no more then.
"Friday had boldly rushed to my rescue. He struck the puma over the
head with his useless rifle. The beast sprang backwards fully fifteen
feet, and prepared to give Friday battle, but the brave fellow was on
him, knife in hand, in a moment. Friday told me afterwards that he
literally flung himself on the puma. Had he missed his aim, he would
never have had another chance, but deep into the monster's very heart
went the dagger, and he never moved a muscle more. Friday was
unwounded."
"And you, Ben?"
"Fearfully cut in the shoulder with the puma's teeth, cut in the back
with the talons of his fore feet, and lacerated in the stomach with his
hind. They have an ugly way of cutting downwards with those talons of
theirs, few who have felt it are likely to forget."
CHAPTER TWELVE.Wide-rent, the clouds
Pour a whole flood; and yet, its flame unquenched
Th' unconquerable lightning straggles through
Ragged and fierce, or in red whirling balls,
And fires the mountains with redoubled rage."
Thomson.
My old friend Captain Roberts is quite a remarkable man in his way--yes,
I might go farther and say, in many of his ways. As a pedestrian, for
example, there are few young men can beat him. When he and I make up
our minds to have a walk, the elements do not prevent us. We start and
go through with it.
But in summer or spring weather, when the roads are not quite ankle-deep
in mud, we dearly love to mount our tricycles and go for a good long
spin. We like to return feeling delightfully hungry and delightfully
tired; then we dine together, and after dinner, when good old Ben gets
his pipe in full blast, it would indeed do your heart good to listen to
him. Everything or anything suggests a yarn to Ben, or brings back to
his mind some sunny memory or gloomy recollection.
One day last summer we started for a ride, for the morning looked very
promising, and the roads were in splendid form. We followed the course
of the Thames upwards, and about noon found ourselves enjoying our
frugal luncheon near a pretty little reach of the river, one of the
thousand beautiful spots by the banks of this famous old stream.
As the clouds, however, began to bank up rather suddenly in the west,
and as they soon met and quite hid the sun, and as the day was still and
sultry, we expected, what we soon got, a thunderstorm. Neither my
friend nor I am very shy, when it comes to the push, so we ran for
shelter, and just as the thunder began to roll and the raindrops to
fall, we got our 'cycles comfortably housed in a farmer's shed.
The farmer was not content, however, until he had us both indoors in his
comfortable parlour. He threw the window wide open, because, he said,
the glass drew the lightning; so there we sat with the thunder rattling
overhead, the rain pattering on the grass and sending up delicious
odours of red and white clover, while the lightning seemed to run along
the ground, and mix itself up with the sparkling rain-rush in quite a
wonderful way.
"Terrible thunder!" said Captain Roberts. "Terrible! puts me in mind of
South America."
The farmer looked eagerly towards him.
The farmer's wife entered with tea, and this completed our feeling of
comfort.
"You've got something to tell us, Ben," I said. "There is something
which that storm reminds you of. Better out with it, without much
further parley."
"Ah, well," he said, "I suppose I must. Not that it is very much of a
story; only, gentlemen, it is true. I haven't lived long enough yet to
have to invent yarns. I haven't told half what I've seen and come
through. But not to weary you--what delicious tea, ma'am!"
"So glad it pleases you, sir."
"I've sailed around a good many coasts in my time; but I think you will
find scenery more charming on the seaboard of some parts of South
America than in any other country in the world. Round about Patagonia,
now, what can beat the coast line for grandeur and stern beauty?
Nothing that I know of.
"But farther north--on the shores of Bolivia, for instance--the scenery
is just a trifle disappointing; the coast is low and sandy, and very
rough in places.
"They call the ocean that laves it the Pacific. Bless my soul! friends,
had you but seen it one day in the month of April, 18--, you wouldn't
have said there was much `pacific' about it. The bit of a barque I was
coasting in was on a lee-shore, too, and there was nothing short of a
miracle could save her. We all saw that from the first. That miracle
never took place. We were carried on shore--carried in on top of a
mountain wave, struck with fearful force, and broke in two in less than
an hour.
"It was a wonder anybody was saved. As it was, seven of us got on shore
one way or another, and there we lay battered and bruised. The sun
dried one half of our clothes; then we rolled round, and he dried the
other. We had tasted no food for four-and-twenty hours, for we had been
battened down, and all hands had to be on deck. So when a case rolled
right up to our very feet we weren't long looking inside it, and glad
enough to find some provisions in the shape of tinned soup.
"Stores floated on shore next day, and spars, and one thing and another,
so we rigged a tent, and made ourselves as much at home as it was
possible for shipwrecked mariners to do.
"We had been shipwrecked apparently on a most inhospitable shore. To
say there wasn't a green thing in sight would hardly be correct. Bits
of scrubby bushes grew here and there in the sand, and a kind of strong
rough grass also in patches; but that was all. Inland, the horizon was
bounded by a chain of mountains; to the west was the ocean, calm enough
now, very wide and dark and blue, with not even an island to break its
monotony.
"It was a poor look-out for us, only we all agreed that it would be
better to stay where we were until our wounds and bruises were somewhat
healed, and until we had gathered sufficient strength to explore the
country.
"We had plenty to eat and drink where we were; we could not tell how we
might fare elsewhere. Only we were quite out of the way of ships, and
our provisions would not last for ever.
"For the first three or four days, I may say we did nothing else but
bury our dead. Sad enough employment, you must allow. But after this a
breeze of wind sprang up, which during the night increased to a gale,
blowing right on to the shore. When the darkness lifted, to our great
joy we found our ship, or rather the pieces of her that had in a sort of
way held together, floated high and dry on the beach.
"Had we wished now to become Crusoes we should have had every
convenience, for we not only got provisions of all kinds out of the
wreck, but boxes of stores, guns, and ammunition. For the last we were
very grateful; and rough sailors though we were, we did not forget to
kneel down there on the sands and thank the Giver of all good, not only
for having mercifully spared us from the violence of the sea, but for
giving us this earnest of future good fortune.
"The hawk scents the quarry from afar, and early next morning we were
not surprised to receive a visit from some armed Indians. They rode on
horses and on mules that seemed as fleet as they were sure-footed.
These Indians were kind enough to express a wish, not over-politely
worded, to possess samples of our various stores. We gave them to eat
as much as they liked; but when they attempted to pillage the wreck, we
first and foremost smilingly and persuasively hinted our disapproval of
such a proceeding.
"This hint not being taken, we tried another: we levelled guns at them,
and they fled.
"They came again the next day; and we made them many presents, and asked
them, in broken Spanish and a deal of sign language, to conduct us
safely over the mountains to the nearest Bolivian town or settlement.
"They were in all about twenty, and if they were half as bad in heart as
they looked, then they were indeed scoundrels of the first water. But
we numbered seven--seven bold hearts and true, and we were well armed,
and able enough to drive a bargain with these fellows to our mutual
advantage.
"We did so in this way: we were to have several horses and five mules,
which should be laden with all our own especial baggage. They--the
Indians--should have as much as they liked of the stores that remained.
"They appeared to consent to this willingly enough. So we made our
packs up--taking the best of everything, of course, and whatever was of
the greatest value.
"It was now well on in the afternoon, so we determined to start on our
journey inland the very next morning. The Indians had still half a
dozen good mules left, and they at once set about making preparations
for loading them.
"There was a deal of squabbling and wrangling over the division, and
more than once they seemed coming to blows.
"As soon as they had chosen all they could carry, we set about piling up
the rest of the wreckage in a heap, preparatory to setting fire to it.
This was absolutely necessary, for if anything was left behind it would
be but a short convoy those Indians would give us. They would hide
their mule packs among the mountains and hurry back for more.
"They were very much displeased, therefore, to see what we were about.
"But nothing cared we;
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